The present invention relates to a vehicle door latch system in which a latch mechanism is released by an electric drive mechanism to enable a door to open.
In JP2004-293038A, a vehicle door latch system comprises a latch mechanism which engages with a striker of a vehicle to hold a door closed; and an electric drive mechanism including a motor to provide a closing function for moving the latch mechanism from a half-latch state to a full-latch state by turning a rotary member by the electric drive mechanism and a releasing function for releasing the latch mechanism by turning the rotary member in another direction by the motor.
However, in the vehicle door latch system, during releasing motion in which the rotary member turns by the motor, electrical failures occurs and the rotary member is held by the releasing motion. Specifically, in the release-holding state, the latch mechanism is also held by the releasing motion. By operating a handle, the connection between the rotary member and the releasing function is canceled thereby enabling the latch mechanism to engage with the striker, so that the door can be closed. But the releasing function is likely to be invalidated by operating the handle, which is disadvantageous.